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In this Issue:
May 12, 2004
|| Oh -- the Green, Green Days of Summer- what can be done!
|| The Frog Chorus - some like it, some like it not!
|| Mosquitos, West Nile and such....
|| Fun (Pond) Facts
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>>> Oh - The Green, Green Days of Summer - what can be done!
Well, we have waited long enough! It is getting warm (was
it just me, or did this winter seem to last forever?)!
That was the good news!
The bad news is that with the warmer weather and longer days
ALGAE can get out of hand.
Whether it is the green water kind or the stringy slimey sort,
we do not like either!
We get literally hundreds of questions dealing with this
almost universal pond problem, so here are some hints and
tips for dealing with it (this is going to be a rather
lengthy newsletter):
1) The very first thing to do is to balance the pH.
The ideal pH is 7.0, but that is often almost impossible to
achieve in a pond. Most ponds will do just fine with a pH
somewhere between 6.8 and 7.9!
2) In all but the coldest areas of the country a pond that
does not have filtration with an Ultra-Violet-Clarifier
should be 2/3 covered with plants by July 4th (general rule
of thumb). The best plants for surface coverage are
Water Lilies, Water Fringe, Water Hyacinth and Water Lettuce
(care must be taken in some of the southern areas as some
of these plants are not legal there because they can be
invasive where they do not die in the winter).
3) Establish a healthy beneficial bacteria colony!
The pond filter should have plenty of surface area for the
bacteria to grow. The filter must run 24/7 and the
biological filter media should not be cleaned with city tap
water (the chlorine in it will kill the beneficial bacteria).
Beneficial bacteria can be added to the pond!
Our favorite is "MicrobeLift!"
4) Use a flocculant when the pond first shows signs of
greening over - it is much easier to stay ahead of the
problem than to clean it up. We have found that "Accu Clear"
ist the most effective flocculant!
5) String algae loves high pH and can almost grow faster
than one can get rid of it. We use "Pond Balance" - it slowly
disolves the string algae without hurting the plants
(algaecides will kill your plants - be careful of what
products to use in the pond).
We have assembled our extremely popular "Algae Batallions"
to deal with any kind of algae.
6) When all else fails, an Ultra-Violet-Clarifier will solve
the green water problem once and for all! (The bulb has
to be replaced once a year, though).
All the helpful items mentioned in this article can be found
in our online store at
our on-line store.
>>> The Frog Chorus - some like it, some like it not!
Every year around this time it is pandemonium in and around
some ponds as frogs are looking for mates and doing so rather
loudly!
And every year we get lots of emails and call from both
sides of the spectrum:
Some callers ask if there is a way to get rid of the frogs
and some callers ask if we know where they can get some
frogs.
If we could just get the two together! :)
The truth is that a healthy pond will eventually attract
its own population of frogs.
This is a GOOD thing!
We destroy so much habitat by building roads, subdivisions,
shopping malls, etc... that every little bit of habitat we
can provide is precious!
The frogs do not hurt a thing! The help reduce the insect
population and most of them will disappear within a few
short weeks once spawning comes to an end.
>>> Mosquitos, West Nile and such....
Lots of questions regarding this subject, also!
Here is the scoop: Generally there is no worry in ponds
with fish!
Koi, Goldfish and Orfe consider Mosquito larvae dessert and
will hunt down each and every one they can reach!
There are, however, sometimes corners of the pond the fish
cannot get to (on top of plant containers, behind rocks, etc.),
but there is help for that:
Mosquito larvae can be destroyed savely without hurting
the environment or the fish or any wild life with
Mosquito Dunks, Mosquito Quick Kill or MicrobeLift Mosquito
Control!
All of these products can be found here.
Some of them are even On Sale right now!
>>> Fun (Pond) Fact:
Did you know...that not only frogs and toads, but salamanders
also start life as a tadpole.
They can be identified rather easily by their external
gills when observed closely.
These gills look a bit like a feathery collar and make the
tiny tadpoles look like itty-bitty dragons.
Please pass this newsletter on to family and friends who may
also enjoy it!
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